Always Daddy's Girl
by Pixie Athanasius
Summary: While the effects of the rebellion were difficult for Katniss and Peeta, years later, it seems it won't be easy either for daddy's little girl.
1. Chapter 1: The First Incident

**Disclaimer**: I don't own THG. Wish I did though. :(

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CHAPTER 1: THE FIRST INCIDENT

It was the first time she had seen it happen. At least, it was the first time that she was old enough to remember and understand that something was wrong. In fact, it was one of the very few memories she still had from when she was a toddler.

It had been a lazy Saturday morning. Kaela remembered it well because it was three days after her third birthday. She had been counting the days until all the leftovers from her dinner celebration were completely gone. On the night of her birthday, her mother had said, "We've got enough food on the table to last us a week!" She was praising the impressive spread her husband had prepared for their only-daughter's birthday. Kaela had furrowed her eyebrows at the statement, consequently examining the amount of food on the table. Yes, there was a lot, but knowing how much food her dad could eat in one sitting, and how much snacks her mom would pack before going hunting, the food would definitely not last long.

That particular morning, three days after Kaela's birthday, they sat down in the dining room for brunch. After obediently finishing her meal, Kaela looked to her dad and said, "Dad, do we still have cake?"

"Sure do." He said, as he stood up and walked towards the refrigerator. As Peeta brought out a slice of cake from Kaela's birthday, he announced, "Last piece!"

"Last? No more other food from my birthday?" she said, a little too hopeful.

"Yes, no more. Last from your birthday" said Peeta, placing the cake on the table.

The little girl couldn't help but squeal. "I knew it!" she said, jumping up and down in her seat. "See mom? Just this many days!" she said, facing her mom and lifting up three little fingers in the air. Katniss, sitting across from her on the dining table, cocked her head to one side, trying to figure out what she was talking about.

"You said it would last a week! It didn't, only this many!" she said, still putting up three little fingers. Katniss couldn't help but smile at her daughter as she remembered her statement from a few days ago, raising both hands in feign surrender.

"Okay, you got me. I should've known I couldn't fool you!" she said, laughing as she did.

Peeta sat down next to her and chimed in with laughter. He looked at his daughter and gave her a wink. "I knew you'd be right all along, sweetheart." Kaela beamed with pride.

It seemed as if only a few seconds had passed since he said this, when Peeta suddenly slammed his hands hard on the table, causing the plates to shake and water from the glasses to spill. Both mother and daughter were startled at the sudden motion, momentarily frozen by Peeta's behaviour. Kaela watched in horror as her father's face began to wrinkle with fury, gritting his teeth and scratching his nails hard against the wooden table. His eyes were different, as if he wasn't the same person. He was mumbling words under his breath, causing the hair on Kaela's skin to rise. She was still frozen in her seat, unsure of whether to help her dad or run away from him. She had never seen him act like this, like… a monster. Her shock made her fail to notice that her mother was already placing her arms around his shoulders, burrowing her face into his blonde hair and whispering.

"Peeta, it's not real. Not real." She heard her mother repeat this a few times, each louder than the previous. Peeta tried to shake his wife's hands off of his shoulders, still muttering words that Kaela couldn't understand. He was now closing his fists, digging his fingers deep into his palms, slamming them against the table. Kaela saw red droplets on the table where Peeta's fists had hit. She shuddered and covered her eyes with her hands.

"Mommy, I'm scared." she said in a voice that revealed her fear all too clearly. Katniss looked at her daughter, torn, unsure of who needs her arms more at the moment. Almost immediately, however, at the sound of Kaela's voice, Peeta's muscles started to relax. He unclenched his now bloody fists and lazily put his head on the table, as if it had suddenly turned too heavy. He was now sweating and breathing heavily, with his eyes closed.

"You're okay, Peeta. You're okay. It wasn't real." Katniss whispered, her arms still wrapping Peeta in an embrace.

Kaela peered through her tiny fingers and slowly stood up in her seat. She looked over and saw her dad with his head now lying on the table. He looked like he was sleeping now, a complete shift from the frightful person he had been just a few seconds ago. Katniss noticed her sneaking a peek and smiled. She walked over to her, leaving Peeta's sleeping form for a while. Crouching down to Kaela's height, she looks at her and tucks a few strands of brown hair behind her ear.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" she said, not entirely sure of how to handle the situation. Kaela swayed left and right, and looked at her toes, avoiding her mother's gaze. She had no idea what just happened, and didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Katniss kissed her forehead and gently pat her cheek. "Is it okay if you go up to your room first while mommy takes care of daddy?" she said, trying to fix one mess at a time. Kaela nodded slowly, as she played with the seams of her dress and forced a smile for her mom. She then hopped off her chair and obediently went up to her room.

Later that day, Kaela heard a soft knock on her door. She had been drawing on the little sketch pad her dad gave her for her birthday, not really knowing what else to do after what she had just witnessed. Peeta's broad form came into view as he opened the door to her room. Still shocked from the day's events, Kaela sat up on her bed and stared at Peeta, obviously still afraid.

"Sweetheart…" Peeta began as he took one step forward. As soon as he did, Kaela started to run away from him, and into her closet, closing the door behind her. Peeta was heartbroken at the sight of his daughter running away from him. Trying not to let the feeling of rejection overcome him, he walks over to the closet door and sits beside it.

"Are you my daddy again?" Peeta heard her little voice from inside the closet. He put his head in his hands, frustrated that she would ever have to see him as anyone else other than her daddy.

"I'll _always_ be your daddy." He said. Peeta then knocked softly on the closet door. "And daddy really wants a hug right now."

The calm in his voice was enough to reassure Kaela that he was, in fact, back to normal. She slowly opened the closet door and crawled out. Peeta then scooped her into his arms and hugged her tightly, squishing her chubby cheeks in the process.

"Daddy?" said Kaela.

"Yes?"

"I can't breathe." Peeta laughed and loosed his hold on her, not ready to release her from the hug.

At the time, her parents couldn't explain why the incident happened, and why it would continue to happen every once in a while. When she asked her mom about it the following day, all her mom said was, "Sometimes, daddy needs to remember where he is and that he's with us."

It happened again a couple more times in the years the followed. During most of these, she would run to her room and leave her mother to take care of things. Katniss didn't mind. She'd rather face the effects of Peeta's hijacking alone, without having to worry about their daughter watching her father in agony.

After such incidents, it would take her only a while to warm up to her dad again. After all, it was impossible to resist running towards her dad when he'd hold out his arms for an embrace. Kaela continued to wish, however, that these incidents would stop. Unfortunately, they never did.

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**A/N**: I haven't written anything in 8 years so hopefully, this one works out. And yes, I'm a daddy's girl. I just thought Peeta would be the type to be incredibly sweet to his daughter too. :)


	2. Chapter 2: Heavier Days

**Disclaimer**: Not even in my wildest dreams could I possibly own THG.

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CHAPTER 2: HEAVIER DAYS

Peeta's condition had improved drastically since his rescue from the Capitol more than a decade ago. However, he still goes back to see Dr. Aurelius for a check-up every once in a while. The urgency to visit the doctor again arose after having an episode in front of Kaela. While it wasn't as bad as it could've been, it was the first time since she was born that Peeta experienced it again.

"I'll be back in two days, Katniss." Peeta said, as he placed his bag on the living room floor.

"Okay, just promise you'll call the soonest you get to the Capitol." Katniss said as she embraced Peeta and gave him a quick kiss. "You've got two girls here who'll be waiting to hear your voice." Just then, Kaela came hopping down the stairs with a brown, little pouch in hand.

"I packed for you, daddy!" she announced, holding up the pouch to Peeta as she approached them. He smiled as he reached for it and loosened the drawstrings to find a short pencil, a red clip, and pieces of dandelion inside.

"This is exactly what I'll need for the trip!" said Peeta, kneeling down to give Kaela a hug. She hugged back, as far as her short arms could. Katniss smiled at the sight of the two and walked towards the couch, where Peeta's coat lay. She then walked towards him and helped him put his coat on.

"Take care of mommy for me while I'm gone, okay? I'll be back before you even miss me." He said, picking up his bag with one hand and holding unto the brown pouch with the other. Katniss and Kaela then walked him to the gates of Victor's Village where a cab, which would take him to the train station, was waiting for Peeta.

As they said their goodbyes and Peeta's cab drove away, a sudden thought hit Kaela. Almost as a panicked shout, she said to no one in particular, "Who's going to prepare our food?" Katniss looked at her daughter with wide eyes, highly amused.

"Don't you think I can cook for us?" she said, suddenly realizing that she had not really cooked for the family in a long while. Kaela just stared at her with her big blue eyes, lips pouting, and shook her head. Katniss laughed as they walked back home.

On their first night without Peeta, Katniss managed to cook a decent dinner for two. It was, however, far from what Kaela was used to. "Your dad spoiled you." Katniss had said jokingly. "We used to celebrate at the sight of burnt bread." The thought made Katniss smile, recalling the burnt bread Peeta threw her way when she was a teenager. Kaela grinned at her mom, showing off all her milk teeth, still trying to chew the cheese buns Katniss had made.

Later that evening, after Peeta called to let them know he was fine, Katniss decided to prepare Kaela for her pre-school application. She had been told that her daughter should at least be able to count, decipher colors and shapes, and follow basic instructions. For months now, Katniss had been reviewing Kaela on these skills. Occasionally, she would be tempted to teach her about different types of plants that they come across in the meadow. Kaela was particularly fond of the plants that could be eaten.

"Can you color the square yellow, please?" said Katniss. They were in the dining room, with crayons and activity books on the table. Kaela followed the instructions, coloring the square yellow, as well as much of the area outside the square. "Well, we both know you don't have daddy's drawing skills." Katniss whispered to herself. Kaela then set down the crayon on the table and looked at up at her mom.

"Mom, can we look at flowers outside now?" Katniss laughed, amused at how much of her interests are Kaela's interests too.

"It's too dark outside. How about let's go to the meadow tomorrow instead?" she said, collecting the scattered crayons. "It's bedtime anyway." With that, they cleaned up the dining table and called it a night.

The next morning, Kaela woke up and went into the kitchen. She sat there alone for a while, still half asleep, before realizing that her mom wasn't around. Used to the family routine, she expected her parents (or in today's case, Katniss) in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. Well, at least Katniss would help prepare breakfast. Peeta was the head chef of the household. Today, however, no one else was in the room. She got off her seat and wandered into the living room, searching for some sign of her mom.

"Mommy?" she said. Finding no one in the room, she went back upstairs and knocked on the door of her parents' bedroom. "Mommy?" she said softly. No response came. After a few seconds, she stood on her toes and turned the door knob. Kaela peered in and saw her mom still lying in bed. She felt relieved, knowing she wasn't alone in the big house after all. She walked over to Katniss' side of the bed and poked her arm.

Katniss was awake, and had been for a few hours. But it was one of those days – those days when she felt so heavy, as if gravity's force had magnified. It had been a while since she slept alone, without Peeta. And of all nights, she had to have the horrendous nightmares when his arms weren't around to protect her. When she woke up, all she could think of were the faces of the people she lost during the rebellion – her sister, her friends, people who sacrificed their lives for their cause, people whose name she can't even recall.

"It's morning, Mom. Time for pancakes." Katniss broke from her trance and turned to see Kaela, smiling and swaying from left to right. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to fight off all the bad memories. She took a deep breath and forced herself to sit up. "Or we can have something else if you don't like pancakes. You don't look like you want pancakes." Kaela said before skipping out of the room.

The rest of the day was rough for Katniss. She tried to focus on what she was doing, unnecessarily putting too much attention on details, like how many folds to get the right pancake batter consistency, or the rhythm to which Kaela's little feet marched. She tried to think of anything to avoid letting memories flow.

When she was done preparing food, she let Kaela eat on her own. She didn't feel like eating at the moment. Instead, she looked for chores to do. By the time she had finished sorting out the laundry, rearranging furniture around the house, fixed up some lunch and pulled out some weeds from the garden, the sun had started to set. She sat down on the living room couch and let herself sink into her thoughts. She stared at the floor, feeling tired and empty from the chase her mind has forced her into. She was so lost in thought, she hadn't noticed Kaela had sat down beside her.

"Why are you sad?" she said bluntly. "Do you miss daddy?" Katniss turned to look at her, unable to respond nor explain what was going through her mind. As she looked at her daughter and her piercing blue Peeta-eyes, she suddenly felt guilty for not paying attention to her the entire day. She had let herself be consumed by the past, consumed by attempts to push away the past, that she forgot about her role as a mom.

"I am so sorry, sweetheart." She said, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She pulled her in for a hug, not knowing how else to express her guilt.

"It's okay, mommy. I miss daddy, too. Especially his pancakes." Katniss laughed in between sobs and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Are you okay now? Can I show you something?" said the little girl.

Kaela pulled away from Katniss' arms and jumped off the couch. She led Katniss upstairs, pulling her by the hand. She mentally began to follow the rhythm to which Kaela walked again. She shook her head, telling herself to stay in the moment.

"What have you been doing all day in your room?" Katniss said as they reached the door to Kaela's bedroom. The little girl giggled as her mom opened the door. Katniss' eyes widened at the sight of what her daughter had been doing the entire day. As she looked at the sight, she suddenly realized what she had failed to notice the entire day.

When she had been sorting out the laundry, Kaela had been sorting through the pile she was done with and grabbed one of the yellow blankets. When she had been rearranging the furniture, Kaela had been going back and forth from the living room to her bedroom, hugging two throw pillows at a time. When she had been preparing lunch, Kaela had grabbed some buns and cupcakes (leftovers from before Peeta left) from the refrigerator. And when she had been pulling weeds from the garden, Kaela was just around the corner, picking primroses from Peeta's bushes. As a result, in one corner of her bedroom, there was a sort of tea party (or picnic - Katniss wasn't sure). The yellow blanket had been laid on the floor, with the throw pillows on top. In the middle was Kaela's tea party set (a gift from Effie Trinket), with the buns and cupcakes placed on the plastic dishes. Next to it was a bottle acting as a vase for the primroses from their garden.

Katniss hadn't noticed that she had been standing there for a few seconds too long, her mouth open. Kaela then pulled her mom into her room and made her sit on the pillows. Taking her own seat across, she took the teapot and pretended to pour tea in the little plastic cups. They spent the rest of the evening in that little corner, with Katniss telling Kaela stories about her family in the old District 12, and the little moments that Katniss will forever cherish.

It wasn't until they heard footsteps from the stairwell, and the door to Kaela's room open that Katniss realized how late it must have been already. Peeta stood at the door, panting as he placed his bag on the floor.

"I was so worried when I opened the front door. All the lights were on but no one was around." He said as he walked towards their little set-up. His face lit up when he saw what they had been up to.

"Look daddy! I took care of mommy!" she said proudly. Katniss turned her gaze from Peeta to Kaela, remembering her husband's words to the girl before leaving. She smiled and took a sip from her imaginary tea before saying, "I'm so glad she takes after you."

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**A/N**: I had another idea for Chapter 2 originally, but I wanted to show how bad the effects of the rebellion were on both Peeta _and _Katniss. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it!


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